Justin and Gregg Wolfe upped the ante when they opened Wolfe of Wortley in
Wortley Village last this summer. The brothers, who initially found sustenance
in music careers, are also the proprietors of downtown London’s red-hot retro
diner The Early Bird, and the former the piñata-themed Rock Au Taco.The Wolfe brothers plan to open
their new Modern Mexican-inspired Los Lobos in the former Talbot St. Whisky
House space in the next few weeks. The menu will show their love for tacos and other
Mexican classics, with the focus at the bar being on tequila, mezcal and
bourbon.

“The Bird,” as it is warmly referred to, has an idiosyncratic
charisma. It features a menu of updated diner classics and new generation
comfort foods. These are soulful dishes that include a king-sized
“turducken club” made with smoked turkey breast, panko-fried chicken and
duck bacon. Try the melt-in-your-mouth potato and cheddar perogies, or the
Montreal smoked brisket which is brined on site and which helped cement the
entrepreneurial brothers’ savvy culinary reputation.

Many progressive chefs use research and staging as an inherent part of
their culinary development. (Staging is an unremunerated internship; a cook or
a chef works temporarily in another chef’s kitchen to be exposed to new
methods, techniques and cuisines.) Chef Justin Wolfe staged in Chicago at
Graham Elliot, where he spent nearly seven months apprenticing and studying at
the Michelin-starred restaurant. Then he was off to master butchery at
Chicago’s Publican Quality Meats.

Justin has worked as an event chef alongside Executive Chef Liaison Jamie
Simpson at The Culinary Vegetable Institute/Chef’s Garden in Milan, Ohio. He
has participated in events with chef de cuisine Eli Kaimeth of Thomas
Keller’s renowned Per Se in New York, and worked with Cortney Burns of the
celebrated Bar Tartine (featuring some of San Francisco’s most experimental
cuisine), and with Gunnar Gislason, the chef/restaurateur behind New Nordic
cuisine at DILL in Reykjavík. And then there was a stint with chef and
culinary scientist Kyle Connaughton formerly of the Fat Duck and now the
groundbreaking Single Thread Farms Restaurant in Healdsburg, California.

Every year Justin pitches in with other chefs, including Michael Smith,
for Village Feast, a non-profit children’s charity based in Souris, Prince
Edward Island, that supports initiatives to improve the lives of children.

The brothers have been the talk of the city with their compact 24-seat
restaurant in Wortley Village, which is complemented by a 14-seat patio. This
is casual but sophisticated noshing focusing on curing, pickling, fermenting
and preserving, and featuring craft cocktails.

The menu includes oysters: raw, cold-smoked, and grilled with Creole
butter and parmesan. We ordered a half dozen shucked, cold-smoked, plump, meaty
Malpeques bathed in 12-year old scotch and served under a dome with juicy
orange segments and house-marinated cherries. When the lid was lifted the
oysters appeared under a cloud of billowing smoke for dramatic effect.

Chef du cuisine Kyle Rose excels at the craft of salting, smoking and
curing primarily pork products to make salumi, which we know as charcuterie.
The downstairs kitchen has a small temperature- and humidity-controlled meat
chamber for the house-made salumi. There it develops the rounded savoury taste
that comes from slow curing and ripening. The chamber features a “meat window”
to showcase a diversity of hanging salumi. Justin gives Rose and sous chef
Jason Ward lots of credit for embracing and delivering the restaurant concept
that the Wolfes developed.

We ordered ordered the charcuterie board which was underpinned by
technique and skill and the salumi had lots of deep flavours and good fat
content. There is also culotello (the king of salumi — dry-cured ham) and very
tasty coppa (salt-cured from the pig’s neck) on offer.

Snacks might include a creamy chicken liver brûlée, “pickled
things”, bone marrow, clams and chicken fried oysters. We loved the
“tongue in cheek” which was comprised of beef tongue wrapped in guanciale
(cured pork jowl) served with “Nappakraut,” pumpernickel and shmaltznaise. (The
origin of shmaltznaise is unclear. The term “schmaltz” is derived is from
Yiddish, meaning «rendered animal fat», and the “naise” must stem from mayonnaise.)
Nevertheless it was the perfect aioli-like accompaniment.

House-made pastas have included bucatini, served with smoked oyster, bacon, egg
yolk and parmesan, and cheese gnocchi with beer mushrooms and mustard. The
chicken fried oysters are served with dill, cucumber and hot sauce. Proteins
have included steelhead trout, bison ribs and octopus. A colleague of mine
talks up the octopus like it is the second coming. There is also whole chicken
for two and sometimes a 17oz. rib eye. Menus change weekly.

“Cocktail-wise Gregg likes to riff on the classics, taking something
familiar, tried and tested and elevating it,” says, Justin. The cocktail menu
was masterminded by Gregg, who started making his homemade infusions of bitters
and syrups months in advance of the restaurant’s opening. The cocktail list
features craft cocktails that are prepared with fresh ingredients, homemade
mixers and premium liquors. Gregg is a bourbon devotee. His signature drink is
a potent smoked Manhattan made with Bulleit Bourbon, Antica Formula (red
vermouth), Angostura bitters and cherry vanilla bitters served in a cinnamon
smoke-filled glass. Besides six signature cocktails there are interesting
seasonal features, quality spirits, and flights of bourbon.

There is a respectable bubbly on offer from winemaker Moray Tawse`s
Redstone Winery in Beamsville, Ontario, and a great off-dry riesling from
Redstone with lots of citrus notes. There is also a cabernet franc and pinot
noir blend from Tawse. These are the Ontario offerings on a compact list.

We were so enamoured by the food we finished the evening with pork belly
for dessert.

The takeaway? You won’t find more up-to-the-minute culinary savviness
than at the upscale Wolfe of Wortley.

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Pre-conceived perceptions of vegetarianism, veganism and
plant-based dining are changing very quickly. Again this year we will be
celebrating the popular VegFest London in November. The ground-breaking
festival presents plant-based and vegan food and products, health and wellness
vendors, special guest speakers, cooking demos, and a children’s activity at
the Progress Building at the Western Fair.

Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish or poultry. Vegans, in
addition to being vegetarian, do not use other animal products and by-products
such as eggs, dairy products, honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, or cosmetics and
soaps derived from animal products.

In the quest for a more healthful lifestyle more people are
adopting vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO, organic and other plant-based
products. Good examples of the rise in plant-based food culture are specialty
food artisans and vendors like Margaret Coon’s Nuts for Cheese on the second
floor of the Farmers’ and Artisans’ Market Western Fair. Coon produces a line
of of artisanal, handcrafted, and vegan cheeses made from cultured organic
cashews. These healthy and delicious cheeses are billed as being “shreddable,
spreadable and meltable” plant-based products that are both dairy- and
gluten-free.

Another interesting vegan business is The Boombox
Bakeshop at the corner of Adelaide and Princess Avenue. Alexandra
Connon creates delicious (and beautiful) pies, cupcakes, popovers, mini
pies and other mouth-watering seasonal treats. The bakeshop is a popular
veg-friendly bakery and café specializing in vegan and gluten-free vegan goods.

Speaking of plant-based bakeries, be sure to stop in at the
new Boho Bake Shop next door to Nuts for Cheese at the Western Fair Farmers’
and Artisans’ Market. The bakery is entirely gluten-, dairy- and egg-free. The
baking is naturally sweetened with pure local honey or maple syrup. Each
product is prepared from scratch in small batches using high quality, whole
organic ingredients. On offer are brownies, squares, cookies, doughnuts and
granola bars.

Two new restaurants in London, Glassroots and Plant Matter
Kitchen, are featuring upscale vegetable-centred cuisine and breaking new
ground for innovative, healthful and quality offerings.

Plant Matter Kitchen

Home to artisans and artists, unique independently owned
shops, services and restaurants, Wortley Village in London’s Old South has
evolved organically to its present charming revitalized streetscape. The
Village boasts a diverse group of interesting buildings with unique boutiques,
restaurants, cafés and small-scale from-scratch bakeries, and two of London’s
newest and most innovative restaurants, Wolfe of Wortley and Plant Matter
Kitchen.

Located in the heart of Wortley Village Plant Matter Kitchen
(PMK) is owned by Glenn Whitehead and partner Melanie Wendt. (Wendt is the
daughter of restaurateur extraordinaire, Dagmar Wendt who operated the landmark
Mexican-inspired Under the Volcano since 1988, until last year.) This wholly
vegan, plant-based, organic restaurant has a distinctly back-to-the-earth vibe
with an open kitchen and a modern urban sensibility. PMK has adopted a whole
food, plant-based focus, crafting vegan fusion meals by mixing global flavours
with an ethical ethos.

The restaurant kitchen serves organic plant-based meals,
smoothies and a delicious proprietary coffee roast from Patrick’s Beans.
There are also beverage pairings that include craft beers by the new Old East
Village artisanal brewer, Anderson Ales, and handcrafted effervescent kombucha
from Booch Organic Kombucha. The farm-to-table approach is expanded to all menu
offerings. Try a power smoothie made with banana, cacao, cashews, chia and
hemp seeds and coconut milk. The kitchen incorporates many whole grains,
legumes, beans, nuts, tofu and seed for a healthy plant-based diet. The kitchen
also uses gluten-free vegan cheeses made from cultured organic cashews and
other natural ingredients crafted by the artisans at Nuts for Cheese. Try the
delectable baked mac and cheese prepared with gluten-free noodles. Both the
signature Caesar and Cobb salads are enjoyable and innovative iterations of
classics.

“PMK is as committed to the foundation of local organic and
plant-based as possible,” Whitehead says. “We are working with a number of
local, smaller and independent farmers to secure that sort of farm-to-table, as
close to fresh and as close to its natural state food experience as we can for
the restaurant goer.” There is an appealing street side patio for relaxing and
people watching. Look for a new expanded patio this year. A second iteration of PMK is expected to open in the former Braywick Bistro premises in the summer of 2017.

After seven years in London, Veg Out chef/owner Florine
Morrison announced that she would be closing Veg Out in April. Culinary
stalwarts Yoda Olinyk and Mike Fish — associates of Morrison — announced in
January they would be opening their new restaurant, Glassroots, in the premises
at 646 Richmond Street after Veg Out closed.

Olinyk and Fish opened
Glassroots and have quickly taken the concept of “local” to a new level,
sourcing everything from as close to home as possible. They are savvy and know
how to build an expanded clientele by casting veganism as healthful lifestyle
rather than a moral crusade. Olinyk and Fish also know how to build
community and have done so very effectively, partially through their
crowdfunding initiative and social media channels.

With a newly renovated and intimate dining room (tables are close),
Glassroots has become a high-energy hub for a dedicated healthful food culture.
The dining room has lots of natural light with stained glass and heritage
accents. Olinyk and her culinary team mix local and seasonal made-from-scratch
food, with a warm and inviting ambiance and a friendly and authentic dining
experience. Olinyk redefines the diverse repertoire of modern plant-based
cuisine with a wholly inventive and idiosyncratic approach. Innovation and
seasonality are paramount and some menu items change weekly.

Olinyk is a certified Red Seal chef and is also skilled in
plant-based nutrition. She was the brains behind the very successful vegetarian
catering company called Yoda’s Kitchen of St. Thomas. She brings to
Glassroots her reputation, expertise and repertoire as “the healthy chef”
and creates innovative, sometimes surprising, flavoursome creations.

Fish, her partner in life and work, is a certified
sommelier, Canadian wine scholar and cocktail guru who bring years of
professional experience and training in the wine industry to the table, with a
goal of offering one of London’s best wine, craft beer and cocktail
lists. The cocktails are fresh, seasonal and a spin on the classics. Try
the refreshing Horse’s Neck. This is the only restaurant in town where you can
get Muscedere Vineyards pinot grigio from Lake Erie’s North Shore.

Glassroots is open for full service dinners Wednesday to
Sunday, and features a Sunday brunch and a healthy, vegan, and take-away lunch
throughout the week. The restaurant is available for wine workshops, tasting
events, fundraisers and more. There is a charming 14-seat elevated patio facing
Richmond Street.

Ontario Culinary Tourist

I am a
writer, culinary columnist and food and social media editor in London and
Toronto, Ontario. A chef, former restaurateur and hospitality consultant with
over thirty years in the industry, my work has appeared in a variety of print
and on-line publications. I also freelance written editorial and visual content
for tourism and corporate clients.